Vehicles having deployable tailgates, for example, pickup trucks, passenger vans, and sport utility vehicles (SUVs), may include lift assist devices that reduce the amount of force required to be applied by a user to control the motion of the tailgates as they are moved between open and closed positions. The lift assist devices may include gas dampers and/or torsion springs that apply a direction force to the tailgate that allows for easier opening and/or closing of the tailgate.
However, lift assist devices may not apply a force of variable intensity to accommodate a variety of conditions that the vehicle may be subject to. Using a pickup truck as an example, the opening speed (and therefore opening energy) of a tailgate may vary depending on vehicle inclination, ambient temperature, and/or gas damper wear. The variability in opening energy may be problematic in applications where the user chooses to open a tailgate while at a remote location, for example, when using a remote keyless entry system. In such an application, tailgates that contact surrounding objects while opening with energy greater than a predefined threshold energy may cause damage to the tailgate and/or the surrounding object.
Accordingly, vehicles incorporating tailgate energy management systems are desired.